April 25, (THEWILL) – Gabriel Jesus, the Brazilian Manchester City forward, has insisted that he is concentrating exclusively on this season, despite continuous rumours about his future and the likely arrival of Erling Haaland at the Etihad.
Although Jesus’ contract does not expire until June 2023, there is speculation that he could be released, to allow Haaland to join from Borussia Dortmund.
Pep Guardiola’s reigning Premier League champions have been linked with a move for Norway striker Haaland, who supposedly has a €75 million release clause that kicks in at the end of the season.
While speculation about Jesus’ future continues, the 25-year-old delivered on the pitch against Watford on Saturday, scoring four goals and assisting in another in the 5-1 romp, as THEWILL reported.
After Afonso Alves, Robinho, Roberto Firmino, and Lucas Moura, Jesus became the fifth Brazilian to score a hat-trick in the Premier League, but the first to score four times in a single encounter.
Sergio Aguero’s five goals against Newcastle United in October 2015 also makes Jesus the second City player to be involved in five goals in a single Premier League game.
However, the former Palmeiras forward, declined to commit his future to City, prompting speculation about whether he will stay and battle for his spot if Haaland is signed.
“It’s not time to think about this”, he told reporters. “You expect me to say this, but it’s true.
“This is no time to think about this. Now is the best moment of the season. I want to enjoy, to keep focused on my team, with my teammates, to fight for the Premier League. I won it with my teammates three times.
“And I know how that feels, and I want to have that feeling again. And then of course we also have a tough game on Tuesday against Real Madrid [in the Champions League] and that is my focus.”
City’s wealth of attacking options has them in contention for the Premier League, leading Liverpool by a point with five games to play, and the Champions League, where they face Madrid in the semi-finals.
But that plethora of creative and goalscoring talent is often what has kept Jesus on the sidelines, with Guardiola preferring to utilise the likes of Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne as forwards after missing out on Harry Kane before the 2021/2022 season kicked off.
Indeed, out of City’s attacking group – which also includes Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez – only the Algeria international has played fewer minutes (1,332) in the Premier League than Jesus’ 1,545 minutes this season.
“It’s not just me, it’s [all] the players. If you ask, everyone’s going to say ‘I want to play’ and the season that I arrived here I played a lot, I think”, Jesus responded when asked if he would like more regular chances.
“I know what I expect of course, but I know we have very good players who can play every game as well.
“Sometimes it’s not just me, it’s Riyad, sometimes Raz [Sterling], and Grealish arrives this season and sees how it is here. We have a lot of good strikers, wingers and forwards.”
Becoming City’s third player to score four goals in a Premier League encounter, (after Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero, who each did so three times), Jesus will look to repeat the feat against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
